They're not saying you can't be all three, just that they're not the same thing. You can be a headmaster and a teacher at the same time, but they are not the same thing.
They're not saying you can't be all three, just that they're not the same thing. You can be a headmaster and a teacher at the same time, but they are not the same thing.
A contractor is someone who is classified as a contractor by the government rather than an employee. You can, at least in the US, be a contractor and only work for a single company and get paid...
A contractor is someone who is classified as a contractor by the government rather than an employee. You can, at least in the US, be a contractor and only work for a single company and get paid something roughly equivalent to a regular salary (this is reasonably common in the tech world, though so is misclassifying employees as contractors). Contractor can also refer to a company that's being contracted to do certain work (which is essentially what you are as an individual if you work as a contractor).
Freelancers are people who earn money on a per-job basis. They often jump around working jobs for different companies -- afaik they would also be contractors in this scenario, but it's possible to be a contractor without being a freelancer (at least in the US -- I think in many other countries they'd force you to either be a freelancer or get hired as an emoloyee)
A consultant is just someone who provides advice professionally. There are lots of freelance consultants, but you can also just work at a consulting firm as an employee. In this case you're not a freelancer, and the company you work for is the contractor when it comes to the places you consult at.
I can't say what it's like where you live, but where I'm from school headmasters usually have more responsibility about the scheduling of classes, the economy, hiring of teachers and the general...
I can't say what it's like where you live, but where I'm from school headmasters usually have more responsibility about the scheduling of classes, the economy, hiring of teachers and the general direction of the school but they may teach some classes as well. Parents contact the teacher if there is a problem with their child or another child in class but parents contact the headmaster if there is a problem with a teacher.
Ah, my mistake, I wasn't clear - I meant the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors! I was also pointing out that, at least where I live, teaching people don't use the...
Ah, my mistake, I wasn't clear - I meant the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors!
I was also pointing out that, at least where I live, teaching people don't use the gendered term "headmaster" these days. Headteacher is more inclusive, like firefighter or police officer vs fireman or policeman. I appreciate this might not be something that works in your local language though. Your English is much better than my Danish :)
Ah, I see that now. In Danish the word isn't gendered so I didn't really think about it.
I was also pointing out that, at least where I live, teaching people don't use the gendered term "headmaster" these days. Headteacher is more inclusive
Ah, I see that now. In Danish the word isn't gendered so I didn't really think about it.
No worries. Still curious though, what is the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors? Even if it's only a difference in Danish, I'm still interested.
No worries. Still curious though, what is the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors?
Even if it's only a difference in Danish, I'm still interested.
A freelancer is a self-employed individual who is paid on a per-job basis and often has multiple clients at once (e.g. spend the morning at one client, meet another for lunch, another in the...
A freelancer is a self-employed individual who is paid on a per-job basis and often has multiple clients at once (e.g. spend the morning at one client, meet another for lunch, another in the afternoon, etc). A freelancer can also be a contractor or consultant (or all three).
A contractor is a person or company who provides contracted work, e.g. to build a patio over X days. Usually contractors don't juggle multiple contracts at once, unless they have multiple employees to spread across the contracts. If the contractor is a single individual they would be considered a freelancer too.
A consultant is a person or company who provides advice and guidance, but not necessarily the one who actually performs the work. (e.g. a security consultant might discuss physical security at a venue with a client but will ultimately not implement the solutions, but might guide employees how to).
It's possible for a person to be all 3 of these or 2 of 3, oftentimes that is the case, but it doesn't have to be.
I am not a programmer, but I'm currently freelancing too. I find that people accept it better if you just omit the word freelance. Say you're a programmer, which is not wrong. If they ask what...
I am not a programmer, but I'm currently freelancing too. I find that people accept it better if you just omit the word freelance. Say you're a programmer, which is not wrong. If they ask what company you work for, just say you have multiple clients that you work for and manage. If any of the clients are recognizable, you can name them.
It's all about how you carry yourself. Talk as if you're a professional who made a professional decision. This is your job and it isn't because you can't find a full time job.
I usually say, as an artist, I find it safer to work for multiple companies rather than one studio. You're not tied to the success and failure of one studio. So if one goes down, you always have another. This was a calculated decision.
When I see “freelance” I immediately think “unemployed” whether it’s true or false. I’ve never heard of a freelance lawyer for example. In my field, a freelance academic is totally just an...
When I see “freelance” I immediately think “unemployed” whether it’s true or false. I’ve never heard of a freelance lawyer for example. In my field, a freelance academic is totally just an unemployed academic. But I’m not in programming, and it seems neither are you. I wonder if the word has different connotations in different fields.
It probably does. For artists at least, freelance isn't indicative of unemployment. If you're good at selling yourself, you could potentially earn more than when tied to a studio full-time. While...
It probably does. For artists at least, freelance isn't indicative of unemployment. If you're good at selling yourself, you could potentially earn more than when tied to a studio full-time. While I did freelance completely for a while, I also did continue freelancing while I had a full time job as a side thing. It's a relatively normal occurrence.
But yeah, I do think it has different connotations in different fields, so it's safer to just not say freelance unless you know the other person understands what you mean.
Also, if a freelance academic is an unemployed academic, why do they call themselves freelance?
Ohh. That makes sense. I guess for programmers, I'm not completely sure, but I've worked with freelance programmers in my previous studios when I was working full time. So it's not unheard of. But...
Ohh. That makes sense.
I guess for programmers, I'm not completely sure, but I've worked with freelance programmers in my previous studios when I was working full time.
So it's not unheard of.
But I do get it if people from other industries don't think highly of the term as they don't have a real equivalent for it.
Archive only has the teaser text, unfortunately. Here's the full text:
Archive only has the teaser text, unfortunately.
Here's the full text:
I've been calling myself that ever since I quit my job and started the self employment journey a few years ago, that's what I've put on my linkedin and also my weblog.
Conventionally, you call yourself a "freelancer" to differentiate from others who are employed with a company or organization. The employee was the traditional norm in society whereas freelancer was more of an oddball (though it's changing a lot lately).
If I call myself a "web developer" or "full stack developer", people will most likely assume that I'm working for a company which will be wrong, hence clarity is better. This article gives a very interesting perspective in this regard.
There is also quite a negative connotation associated with the word "freelancing" in our society which has less to do with the nature of self-employment itself but more with the distrust and disdain towards the average pleb or human in the society. We live in a primarily capitalism driven society where concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is an accepted way of life.
Brands and businesses naturally invoke more trust in people compared to just people or average John Does, and probably for good reasons. A brand is a perpetual entity whereas a freelancer isn't. A freelancer may fall ill and not meet your project deadline, they may find themselves incompetent for a job but a brand guarantees a service, especially the big and popular ones.
It is also usually believed by some people that a freelancer or self-employed is never by choice, they do it only because they couldn't find employment in the corporate. If only they understood how painful and frustrating working in some parts or regions of the corporate could be! It's not all roses and sunshine in corporate too, perhaps some folks just adjust to that mill, and others don't.
Anyhow, I seemed to have digressed a lot from the title topic. All I wanted to convey through this post is that society needs to have some empathy at the word "freelancer", that's all!
Why wouldn’t it be? If you’re paid on a per-job basis then you are a freelancer.
The cool kids call themselves contractors.
Contractors / Consultants / Freelancers are not the same thing.
I employ coders who operate as sole proprietors, they’re consultants, freelancers and I guess contractors at the same time.
They're not saying you can't be all three, just that they're not the same thing. You can be a headmaster and a teacher at the same time, but they are not the same thing.
What's the difference then? I've always understood the terms to be interchangable.
(headteacher, btw)
A contractor is someone who is classified as a contractor by the government rather than an employee. You can, at least in the US, be a contractor and only work for a single company and get paid something roughly equivalent to a regular salary (this is reasonably common in the tech world, though so is misclassifying employees as contractors). Contractor can also refer to a company that's being contracted to do certain work (which is essentially what you are as an individual if you work as a contractor).
Freelancers are people who earn money on a per-job basis. They often jump around working jobs for different companies -- afaik they would also be contractors in this scenario, but it's possible to be a contractor without being a freelancer (at least in the US -- I think in many other countries they'd force you to either be a freelancer or get hired as an emoloyee)
A consultant is just someone who provides advice professionally. There are lots of freelance consultants, but you can also just work at a consulting firm as an employee. In this case you're not a freelancer, and the company you work for is the contractor when it comes to the places you consult at.
I can't say what it's like where you live, but where I'm from school headmasters usually have more responsibility about the scheduling of classes, the economy, hiring of teachers and the general direction of the school but they may teach some classes as well. Parents contact the teacher if there is a problem with their child or another child in class but parents contact the headmaster if there is a problem with a teacher.
Ah, my mistake, I wasn't clear - I meant the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors!
I was also pointing out that, at least where I live, teaching people don't use the gendered term "headmaster" these days. Headteacher is more inclusive, like firefighter or police officer vs fireman or policeman. I appreciate this might not be something that works in your local language though. Your English is much better than my Danish :)
Ah, I see that now. In Danish the word isn't gendered so I didn't really think about it.
No worries. Still curious though, what is the difference between consultants, freelancers and contractors?
Even if it's only a difference in Danish, I'm still interested.
Oh, I don't know. Maybe /u/Halio, who you originally answered, can shed some light?
A freelancer is a self-employed individual who is paid on a per-job basis and often has multiple clients at once (e.g. spend the morning at one client, meet another for lunch, another in the afternoon, etc). A freelancer can also be a contractor or consultant (or all three).
A contractor is a person or company who provides contracted work, e.g. to build a patio over X days. Usually contractors don't juggle multiple contracts at once, unless they have multiple employees to spread across the contracts. If the contractor is a single individual they would be considered a freelancer too.
A consultant is a person or company who provides advice and guidance, but not necessarily the one who actually performs the work. (e.g. a security consultant might discuss physical security at a venue with a client but will ultimately not implement the solutions, but might guide employees how to).
It's possible for a person to be all 3 of these or 2 of 3, oftentimes that is the case, but it doesn't have to be.
Thank you! That was a very nice write-up
I am not a programmer, but I'm currently freelancing too. I find that people accept it better if you just omit the word freelance. Say you're a programmer, which is not wrong. If they ask what company you work for, just say you have multiple clients that you work for and manage. If any of the clients are recognizable, you can name them.
It's all about how you carry yourself. Talk as if you're a professional who made a professional decision. This is your job and it isn't because you can't find a full time job.
I usually say, as an artist, I find it safer to work for multiple companies rather than one studio. You're not tied to the success and failure of one studio. So if one goes down, you always have another. This was a calculated decision.
When I see “freelance” I immediately think “unemployed” whether it’s true or false. I’ve never heard of a freelance lawyer for example. In my field, a freelance academic is totally just an unemployed academic. But I’m not in programming, and it seems neither are you. I wonder if the word has different connotations in different fields.
It probably does. For artists at least, freelance isn't indicative of unemployment. If you're good at selling yourself, you could potentially earn more than when tied to a studio full-time. While I did freelance completely for a while, I also did continue freelancing while I had a full time job as a side thing. It's a relatively normal occurrence.
But yeah, I do think it has different connotations in different fields, so it's safer to just not say freelance unless you know the other person understands what you mean.
Also, if a freelance academic is an unemployed academic, why do they call themselves freelance?
That’s kind of my point. No one calls themselves that, and if they did, it would be interpreted with some light derision/empathy I think.
Ohh. That makes sense.
I guess for programmers, I'm not completely sure, but I've worked with freelance programmers in my previous studios when I was working full time.
So it's not unheard of.
But I do get it if people from other industries don't think highly of the term as they don't have a real equivalent for it.
Archive link in case you don't wanna go there
Archive only has the teaser text, unfortunately.
Here's the full text: